human trochanter

A trochanter is a tubercle of the femur near its joint with the hip bone. In humans and most mammals, the trochanters serve as important muscle attachment sites. Humans have two, sometimes three, trochanters.

==Etymology== thumb|Ancient Greek triremes – three rows of oars – which were raised and faced backward or forward during rowing, somewhat similar to muscle attachments on the trochanter The anatomical term trochanter (the bony protrusions on the femur) derives from the Greek τροχαντήρ (trochantḗr). This Greek word itself is generally broken down into: τροχάζω (trokházō), meaning “to run quickly”, “to gallop”, or “to move rapidly”. -τήρ (-tḗr), a suffix in Greek that often signifies an agent or instrument (“one who [does something]” or “that which [does something]”).